About Sarah VandebergAge: 63City: CedarvilleDate of Diagnosis: January 14, 2013Occupation: RetiredFamily: Husband, Michael; daughters, Deann and Amber; sisters, Pat and Charlotte; grandchildren, Alyxandrya and MielikkiHobbies: Knitting, reading, gardening, spending time with familyAbout this series October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. To help raise awareness, The Journal-Standard will feature a survivor's story each Tuesday.

FREEPORT — Sarah Vandeberg says that she couldn't have made it without her family.

"You always think it's never going to happen to me," Vandeberg said. "It was very surprising. It's a hard situation to have but if you put your faith in God and have family to support you, it's all you need."

Vandeberg was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer in January. After discovering a lump on her breast, Vandeberg underwent a biopsy, which determined the lump to be cancerous. In February, she had a mastectomy, 14 lymph nodes removed (12 were cancerous), and endured chemotherapy from March until June followed by 6½ weeks of radiation.

"I think in diagnosing it so quickly, the doctors did an excellent job," Vandeberg said. "When I was diagnosed the doctor asked if I had brought anyone to my appointment and I said I didn't because I knew what he was going to tell me."

"It's been my belief all along that I don't have cancer anymore," Vandeberg said. "It's all how you look at things. This could happen to anyone. Faith and endurance can overcome anything."

Vandeberg's family had no prior history of breast cancer and her daughter, Amber Akers, said that waiting to get checked out could have been the difference between life and death for her mother.

"You can look at it as I'm going to die or else I'm going to beat it," Akers said. "She said I'm not going to let this get me down. I'm not going to let this beat me."

Akers said that she tried her best to always be there for mom and to remain positive.

"She's always been there for me so I had to turn around and be there for her," Akers said. "Whether it was sitting there with her to keep her company or anything. If she's going to be fighting this on the inside, then I'll be fighting it on the outside."

Vandeberg finished her last round of radiation treatments two weeks ago and hopes to be told at her next doctor's appointment that she is now cancer free.